New fines for deliberately searching for extremist materials online using circumvention tools are being introduced by the State Duma

The State Duma will consider amendments to introduce fines of up to 5,000 rubles for deliberately accessing prohibited materials using technology

The State Duma Committee on State Building and Legislation supported the initiative of the Russian government to introduce fines for deliberately searching for extremist materials on the Internet. According to amendments planned to be introduced to the Code of Administrative Offenses (CAO), citizens using VPNs and other technologies to access prohibited resources face a fine of 3 to 5 thousand rubles.

The new Article 13.53 of the Code of Administrative Offenses provides for punishment for searching for and accessing materials included in the federal list of extremist publications. This refers not only to ordinary viewing, but also to the use of circumvention technologies, including VPNs, anonymizers and other hardware and software.

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